A Special Veterans' Day

Let us pause in our discussion of the meaning of justice in a free
society to thank those who make a free society possible. High-toned
declarations and proclamations would be nothing but scraps of paper
without the sacrifice of those who fight for freedom against the forces
of totalitarianism. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.

In addition, we are on a special mission this Veterans' Day. On October 17, the Supreme Court took up the constitutionality of the Stolen Valor Act. See prior post here. The Ninth Circuit, true to form, held that there is a constitutional right to lie about being a decorated war hero.

Congress did not think so when it found,

"Fraudulent claims surrounding the receipt of the Medal of Honor, the distinguished-service cross, the Navy cross, the Air Force cross, the Purple Heart, and other decorations and medals awarded by the President or the Armed Forces of the United States damage the reputation and meaning of such decorations and medals." 120 Stat. 3266 (2006).

We at CJLF are presently working on an amicus brief arguing for the constitutionality of the act. I am pleased to report that we will be joined in this brief by the Legion of Valor.

Kozinski's concurrence in the decision to deny rehearing en banc is certainly worth a read. He's a little over the top in what kind of society we would have if the SVA is held to be constitutional--however, who would have thought that people would be subjected to civil rights lawsuits by the government for merely protesting a halfway house and who would have thought radio broadcasters expressing an opinion about a pending citizen initiative would be subject to campaign finance laws?

I am no First Amendment expert, but it seems to me that one issue is that everyone who has won one of these decorations is harmed by others lying about it and they have no means of protecting themselves from these losers. Only society can do that.